17 containers have fallen into the sea from a Maldives State Shipping (MSS) vessel while en route to Sri Lanka.

In that incident which occurred yesterday morning, as reported in Sri Lanka's "Daily Mirror", the containers that fell into the sea were empty containers.

As reported to the Colombo Information Fusion Center (IFC), the incident occurred due to bad weather and rough seas. Those containers fell approximately 17 nautical miles west of the Colombo Port.

After departing from Malé, the vessel began its voyage to Colombo Port on 28th July 2026.

Regarding the incident, Sri Lanka's Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has issued an alert instructing vessels traveling in that area to beware of the floating containers, according to the Daily Mirror.

Relevant authorities have stated that there is a high likelihood of those containers washing ashore, particularly along the coasts of Beruwala and Negombo in Sri Lanka.

While the Sri Lankan Navy is working to assess the situation in the area, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) has requested fishermen and vessels traveling through the area to report if any of those containers are spotted.

State Shipping has not made any statement regarding the incident so far.